
12
SABBATH-SCHOOL LESSON OUARTERLY.
in possession of His glorious kingdom. The thief asked that
at that time, and not on the day upon which he made the
request, he might not be forgotten.
That he was not with Christ the day he was crucified
is apparent for several reasons. (1) Jesus did not ascend
to Paradise that day (John 20:19). (2) There is no proba-
bility that the thief died that day, for Pilate marveled that
Jesus was so soon dead (Mark 15:43, 44), and the legs of
the thieves were broken for the purpose evidently that they
might not escape when taken from the cross, which would
have been unnecessary if they had been already dead. An
error in punctuation which appears in the text, placing the
comma before, instead of after, the word "to-day," is responsible
for any apparent contradiction of other scriptures. Properly
punctuated, the text would read as follows: "Verily I say
unto thee to-day, thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." The
following excellent note, taken from Rotherham's translation
of the New Testament, in favor of this punctuation, makes
the matter clear: "It is left for the reader to determine
whether the words 'this day' should be joined (a) with the
former part of the sentence, or (b) with the latter. In
favor of (a) may be urged: (1) The fact that
semeron,
'this
day,' does not always stand first in the clause to which it
belongs (see Luke 2:11; 5:26; 22:34; Acts 20:26; 22:3; 24:21;
26:29); (2) that being essentially a demonstrative word, it
will bear any reasonable stress which may be laid upon it,
whether it be placed before or after the words which it quali-
fies; (3) that it is far from meaningless if regarded as be-
longing to the opening words of asservation, 'Thou dost ask
to be remembered then; verily thou art assured now. As
on this day of My weakness and shame, thou hast faith to
ask, I this day have authority to answer;' (4) that the latter
part of the verse is thus left free to refer to the very matter
of the supplicant's request, 'Thou dost ask to be remembered
when I come in My kingdom; thou shalt be remembered then,
and with distinguished favor; thou shalt be in My kingdom;
shalt be with Me in the very Paradise of My kingdom, in
the garden of the Lord."
2.
It is not stated that the fire will burn to all eternity,
but simply that it is "unquenchable," a term used to signify
only destructive fire. Being kindled by Jehovah, no power
can extinguish it. It will burn until that upon which it
preys has been consumed
3.
The expression, "worm dieth not," is a figure expressive
Prayerfully consider the unentered fields.